We get Rain

Since we left Texas, Austin has had a lot of rain.  Lake Travis is up 9 feet and will go up some more this week, but it seemed as if we brought the Texas drought down to Florida with us.  In the nearly two months since we moved onto the boat we have had maybe a tenth of an inch of rain.  That worked well for us since we’re not trying to fill a lake up or care for a lawn.

That all changed last week, we finally had some real rain; about five inches over two days.  That was our first chance to see if the boat had any leaks.  It did.  After a night of pounding rain we awoke to find our salon cushions soaked with water.  I started looking around to see where it came from and Wendy suggested the chainplate holes.

When we had the boat tented for termites we had to take the mast down.  While the mast was down we decided to have new chainplates made.  Chainplates are the attachment points for the wire rigging that holds up the mast.  That has been an ordeal that is still not resolved, but looks to be complete in about two weeks.  Anyway, when we pulled out the chainplates we filled the holes with caulk.  I put lots of caulk in there to make sure it didn’t leak, so I was pretty sure that wasn’t where the water was coming from.

Of course, Wendy was right.  Of the six holes four were letting water into the boat and draining right onto the salon cushions.  We had a break in the rain so I went up and added a LOT more caulk to the holes.  Certainly that would fix our leak problem.  We now had waterlogged cushions in the only area where we have seats.  The cushion on the starboard side wasn’t too bad and we were able to dry it fairly well with a towel.  The cushion on the port side was really soaked through and needed to be pulled out and stood up on its side to drain.  It seemed like a minor inconvenience that we would live through.

We have a small portable A/C unit on our boat.  It is just a little window unit that sits in the rear companion way and plugs into our shore power.  We could have installed a full boat A/C system, but that would have been $5000 and taken up a lot of valuable storage room while this cost us $200 and can be left behind when we finally go cruising.  The only problem with the little A/C unit was that it drained into our cabin.  We kept a big bowl under the drip to catch the water and about once a day we would empty the water.  The A/C helped dry the boat out some and things were looking up, until that evening.

That evening we had some more rain.  Lots more rain; like another three inches.  It turned out that the leaks we had still leaked, not as bad, but water was still getting in the boat.  On top of that the wind shifted and caused another leak by our forward companion way.  So, we had wet cushions and several leaks.  None were bad, but the humidity in the boat was definitely going up.  As the humidity went up the A/C worked harder to remove the extra water from the air and the dripping from the A/C greatly increased.

For the rest of the evening we kept up with the leaks, putting a cup under a drip, towels on the floor where it was getting wet and wiping up anything we could reach.  It wasn’t ideal, but it was working.  When it was time for bed, though, we had a big surprise.  The A/C is right by our bed, just above and just off to the side.  The increase in the amount of water it was removing from the air was too much for the usual drip point to handle.  The A/C was dripping from several places and one of those places was right above a strip of wood trim.  The strip of trim runs across the cabin right above our bed and ends near the center foot of the bed.  So, the water would run across the trim then drop onto the foot of the bed.  The whole foot of the bed was soaked.  Sheets, blankets and mattress were all wet, plus it was still dripping!  We pulled the sheets and blankets off then grabbed a bowl to put under the drip.  I came up with a great idea at that time.  If I drilled a hole into the drip pan for the A/C outside the water would stop draining into the cabin and drain into the cockpit.  I grabbed a flashlight and drill and headed out into the dark.  I propped up the flashlight and started drilling at the lowest point of the drip pan.  I knew I had to be careful not to drill though and hit the coils, so I went slowly.  Slowly, slowly, slowly and POP!  I drilled right though and hit the coils and destroyed the A/C.

Now we had no A/C, leaks, wet furniture, rain and no ventilation.  It was going to be a long night.  For a minute I considered packing up and finding a hotel.  Fortunately, the night was cool and we had small fans, plus our A/C was still a big expensive fan.  I slept on the long, wet salon seat and Wendy slept on the short, dry salon seat.  We woke up early the next morning to head off to Home Depot to get a new A/C.

It all worked out in the end.  The new A/C is a little smaller and keeps the boat drier.  It could be mounted so that it drains outside the cabin into the cockpit.  I drilled a hole in the bottom to help it drain and did it during the day so I could make sure not to ruin it in the process.  The bed dried really quickly and by that night we were back in our bed.  The salon cushion took a little while longer, but it finally dried.  No heavy rain is in the forecast.

One final note: Wendy felt like we were the only boat in the marina that had this problem and was wondering, “Why us?”  When she went up to wash the wet sheets she ran into one of our neighbors in the laundry room who was also washing wet things.  The neighbor said that they had lot of leaks, everything was wet and it wasn’t the first time.  Apparently they have been trying to track down all of their leaks for a while with little success.  Hearing that made Wendy feel a lot better, after all “misery loves company”.

 

 

The Mullet Incident

First, let me tell everyone about mullet.  Not the unattractive hair style, I can’t explain that, but the fish.  Anyone who has spent any time along the Gulf coast has seen mullet swimming around.  They are vegetarian fish that hang out in schools near the surface.  They usually just swim around in circles, but occasionally they jump from the water.  No one has figured out why they jump, but that doesn’t stop them from jumping anyway.  The big ones can leap about three feet up into the air, though they seem to go for distance rather than height.  Typically, they land on their side with a loud slapping noise.  Mostly they irritate little kids who don’t understand why they won’t bite any bait.  Or so I’ve heard.

Anyway, here is the story:

We’re sitting in the cockpit watching the sunset and having a beer.

Will: What’s that smell?

Wendy: Huh?

Will: It smells like something dead.

Wendy: I don’t smell anything.

Will: Well, I don’t smell it now, but I did just a second ago.

Wendy: I still don’t smell anything.

The conversation goes on like that for a while.  I occasionally sniff something that smells like dead fish and Wendy smells nothing.  Oh, well, I’m sure it’ll be gone tomorrow.

I’m wrong.  The next evening we both smell dead fish.  I go look around the boat to see if there is a dead fish stuck next to the hull; nothing there.  I sit back down for a while, but the smell gets me back up again.  I look all over then notice some stains in the floor of the dinghy.  I lean way off the back of the boat so that I can see the whole dinghy and there in the back, bottom, corner is a dead mullet.

We keep our dinghy hanging on davits on the back of our boat.  To prevent it filling up with rain water the back is lower than the front.  That way any water that gets in will go to the back and empty out the drain.  Apparently this mullet leaped high enough to land in our dinghy and get stuck there.  It was probably days later before we found him.  Now he is way past dead and smelling like it.

Dinghy on davits.

When sailing your boat is like your house and your dinghy is like your car.  Most places your boat will be at anchor and you will take your dinghy to shore to pick up groceries, wash cloths, to go snorkeling, go to the beach or just exploring.  You spend a lot of time in your dinghy once you arrive at your destination and you certainly don’t want it to smell like dead fish.

I’m not sure how this happened.  I spent half my childhood on Tampa Bay and I’ve seen mullet jump thousands of times.  I have never seen one hit anything when they jumped.  I’ve never seen one hit a boat or a dock or jump up on a beach.  They always seem to know where they are jumping and where they are going to land, so I’m not sure how this one ended up in our dinghy.  My guess is since the dinghy was suspended and not touching the water the poor fish never knew it was there until he was landing in it.

After we realize there is a dead mullet in our dinghy, I pull the dinghy up while Wendy leans over the stern and grabs the fish with a paper towel.  Very brave of her, I want nothing to do with that.  She drops it overboard and it quickly sinks to the bottom.  The smell lingers the rest of the evening even after we rinse out the bottom of the dinghy.  I suspect we’ll need to get in there with some soap and water.  And by “we” I mean me.  Fun, fun.

The next afternoon I decide it’s time to tackle this project.  I grab some dish soap and a rag then Wendy and I pull the dingy up onto the dock.  The dinghy is nearly 12 feet long and the dock is about 10 feet across, so we’re basically blocking off our end of the dock.  We could lay it on the dock sideways, but then it’ll be hard to drain, so we just block off the dock. 

Our dinghy is a soft bottom dinghy with three pieces.  There is the main boat with big pontoons on the sides and front and a thin fabric bottom, an inflatable spine that runs down the center to give the bottom a V shape and an inflatable flat bottom which lies on top of the spine.  The fish landed on the flat bottom, but as it started to decompose it leaked down into the lower layers of the bottom insuring that all the pieces would need a good scrubbing.

I start by just trying to spray the mess off with the hose.  That does nothing but fill the dinghy up with water.  I’m going to have to go in and take care of this by hand.  I pull out the flat floor to work on that separately.  It has rotten fish covering it on both sides.  I start scrubbing and get some of the dirty suds on me. I realize this is going to get messy and I don’t want this stuff on my clothes, so I take off my shirt and shoes and just wear my board shorts.  I scrub and scrub, then flip it over to scrub and scrub some more.  Wendy rinses that piece off while I climb into the dinghy to start on the bottom.   Now I’m knelling in water that has putrid decaying fish particles floating around in it.  I mostly hold my breath while scrubbing then when I’m about to pass out I sit up, turn into the wind and gulp some fresh air.  After recovering I knell back down to continue.  Occasionally I breathe a little in and nearly gag, but I manage to get though it without losing my lunch.

A few people want to get by and I need to climb out to move the boat for them to pass.  Wendy explains to them the cause of the terrible smell as I climb back into the stench.  Some people smile and shake their heads, one offers a “good luck”, most just move away as quickly as possible.  After scrubbing all I can, Wendy rinses everything off one more time.  I can still smell dead fish, but I’m thinking that is just what has gotten on me.

I go off to the showers to clean myself up and when I return the smell is still there.  I’m pretty sure it’s not me, not positive, but pretty sure.  I stick my nose near the dinghy and find it still stinks.  It’s better, but far from good.

Dinghy bottom laying on deck.

The next day I attack the smell with Tilex.  I’m sure bleach will take care of the problem.  Another hour of scrubbing and rinsing, another shower and the smell is slightly better.  I tie the flat bottom to our deck and leave it in the sun for days.  My hope is the sun will burn the smell away, but the only thing that happens is the smell gets worse as it heats up.

Next I try baking soda and lemon juice.  I mix the two together to form a paste then spread that over the area that has the strongest smell.  I leave it on overnight and rinse it off the next day.  This solution has some success.  The smell has been reduced, but it is still not completely gone and I’ll have to spot treat each section.  That’s going to take a while.  I’m going to try white vinegar after this to see if that does any better.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to get rid of dead fish smell from PVC please let me know.
 

Dinghy bottom with lemon juice and baking soda.

Some may ask, “Why go through all this trouble?  Why not just buy a new one?  How much could an inflatable boat cost?” The answer is about $3000, plus tax, plus a few hundred for shipping.  So, the decision to clean it is an easy one. Until I win the lottery which may be a while since I don’t even play.

I used to like the sound of mullet jumping then slapping down into the water.  Now it just makes me cringe.  I’m sure I won’t enjoy that sound again until long after the dinghy stops stinking.

 

 

Wendy Cooks Dinner

After living on the boat for about 10 days Wendy decided to actually cook a meal.  Up until then she had used the little microwave we have onboard.  This was something Wendy had been dreading for weeks and she was finally ready to give it a try.

The reason she had been dreading this was using propane on a boat is dangerous.  A small 1 pound canister of propane can turn a large boat into a bomb.  Propane gas is heavier than air so if it gets loose inside a boat it just settles to the bottom of the boat and stays there.  Then all it needs is a spark to set it off (things like flipping a light switch, turning on a fan, even a static electricity shock) and the boat explodes.  If you want to see what happens when two 1 pound propane tanks ignite, take a look at this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxm3uMy6MPI  Jump to 4:40 in to see the explosion and stick around for a minute to see it from inside and on the boat in slow motion.  That’s two 1 pound canisters; we have four 10 pound tanks.

So, to prevent that from happening there are a number of safeguards.  First, the propane tanks are stored in a sealed compartment with a hose attached that leads overboard.  If a tank leaks the propane leaves the boat and dissipates in the wind.  Second, there is a solenoid switch right by the tanks to shut off the flow of propane going into the boat.  A solenoid is an electro-magnetic switch that creates no spark when it turns on.  So, you turn on the solenoid to let the gas flow to the stove, cook your meal then turn off the solenoid.  That way no gas can get free and get into your boat.  The third safeguard is a sniffer.  It is sort of like a smoke detector, but it detects small amounts of propane in the air.  If that alarm goes off you just leave the boat and call the fire department.

Anyway, Wendy had never cooked on a gas stove much less a propane stove on a boat, so she had been a little nervous about cooking even though I assured her it was easier than is sounded.  Just turn on the valve at the tank, flip the switch on the switch panel to supply power to the solenoid, turn on the solenoid, turn on the burner and light it.  What could be easier?

I went out to turn on the propane at the tank and noticed that the tank was really light.  We tried starting the stove, but found that the tank was out of gas.  No big deal, we have 4 tanks.  I tried the others and found one that was much heavier.  I just needed to grab a wrench and switch them out. 

This connector was a little different than the one on my gas grill.  Instead of the connector going over the outside of the tank valve this one screwed into the tank valve.  I put my adjustable wrench on it and gave it a turn counter clockwise to unscrew the connector and it moved about an eighth of a turn.  Wow, that was really tight.  I just need to get a better angle on the thing.  I pulled the whole tank out and laid it on the cockpit seat, so I could get some weight on it.  I leaned into the wrench, the connector turned a little bit, I leaned some more and the wrench slipped off rounding a corner of the connector.  OK, I was getting mad at the stupid fitting.  I took the connector apart so that only the final threaded piece was still connected to the tank then headed inside to get my socket set and breaker bar.  I was going to get this thing off.  I dug through my tool kit to find a large enough socket.  I knew one was in there and I finally just dumped the tool box on the floor.  I found the socket I was looking for in the pile of tools and headed back to the propane tank.  Since I had rounded a corner, I had to encourage the socket onto the connector with a hammer.  OK, I was set, this time I was going to get this thing off.

I leaned on the breaker bar, leaned a little more and finally put all my weight onto it.  The fitting moved about a quarter turn and stopped hard.  It was moving no further.  About that time a little light bulb went on over my head.  A question started forming, "Was this thing reverse threaded?"  I flipped everything over, leaned on it again and it started to move.  I put the ratchet on it, kept turning it clockwise and it easily spun off.  Lesson learned, the connector is reverse threaded and I don’t need to tighten it all the way before taking it off.

Wendy was able to cook the meal in spite of my help.  The propane system worked as it should and our boat has not exploded.  Wendy has since cooked several meal s and no longer fears the propane stove.

 

Wendy cooks dinner without blowing up the boat.

 

Renaming Kailani

When we bought our boat we registered her as Kailani.  However, the name on the boat still said Ahwahnee.  After we moved aboard we finally changed the name on the boat to Kailani.

We went online to Boat US to order the new graphics.  Since we plan on replacing Kailani’s current green canvas with a navy blue canvas, we went on and had the new graphics made in navy blue.  We did not order any stripe tape, but that will be next.  This was a more involved process than we had anticipated, but the results were worth the effort.

First the old graphics had to be removed.  That involved scraping them off with a razor making sure the razor wouldn’t fall into the water by tying them to our wrists.  This step was an important one as we’ve all seen that I clearly have a habit of dropping things in the water.

After the letters were scrapped off we had to remove the remaining glue then clean the glue cleaner off the hull.  To help even up the paint under the letters and the paint around the letters we had to use a polishing compound followed by cleaning the compound then installing the new graphics and finally waxing the area that we polished.  So, the process went scrap, glue remover, Windex, polish, Windex, install the graphics and finish with waxing.

Now we just have to do the stripes.

 

 

Wendy prepares to remove the old name.

 

Wendy is nearly finished with removing the old graphics.

 

Kailani has her new graphics on the bow.

   

Before we begin on the stern.

 

After removing the old graphics, but before cleaning and polishing.

 

Cleaned, polished and ready for new graphics.

 

Kailani has her new graphics and new Port of Call.

 

 

Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink.

Getting water in a house is easy, you turn the tap and water just flows out.  On a boat it’s not quite that simple.  On a boat there is no water pressure to make the water flow; you have to have a pump.  When it works as it should an electric pump fills up an accumulator tank with water and pressurized air.  When you turn on the faucet the pressurized air pushes the water out of the tank, through the lines and out the faucet.  When it works as it should.

As much as possible we have to repair things on our boat ourselves.  There are two reasons for that.  One, of course, is money.  The cost of labor for all things marine is outrageous.  Two, we will not always be someplace where we can find someone to repair things.  Being able to make repairs yourself allows you to be more independent and living in a marina is a great time to learn all the systems.

When we moved our boat from west FL to east FL we thought we ran out of water.  However, when we moved onto the boat we filled up the tanks and still nothing would come out.  When we turned on the faucet nothing happened.  Normally, either water would flow or you would hear the pump running to fill up the tank.  We had nothing.   Fortunately, we had a foot pump.  You just step on a little pedal over and over again and it pumps water out a spare tap.  Of course, that’s only at the galley sink (kitchen sink).  We’ve been really busy on other projects, so the foot pump will have to do for now.

We’ve been using the foot pump for a week and that’s our only source of water on the boat.  It’s taking care of us until we have time to fix the issue with the electric pump.  Then one day I see some water on the floor of the galley.  I trace the water back to the foot pump and find that it is leaking all over.  Now we need to do something immediately and we opt to fix the foot pump because that problem doesn’t need to be diagnosed.  It’s leaking – it either needs to be rebuilt or replaced.  We head over to visit our friends at West Marine and see if they have a pump or a rebuild kit.  They don’t, but it turns out that the West Marine down in Stuart has a pump in stock.  Stuart is only a 40 minute drive so it’s not a big deal just irritating because I passed within a block of that West Marine earlier in the day when I went to a doctor’s appointment.  We place an order for a rebuild kit then drive down to Stuart to pick up a new pump.  If we rebuild our old pump we’ll have a spare if we ever need it.

Our old pump is at least 30 years old.  I’m not sure if it has been rebuilt in the past, but the point is Whale pumps last forever.  When we arrive at West Marine to buy our new Whale pump the guy at the counter basically says the same thing – people never bring back Whale pumps with problems.  They’re bullet proof.  We do some more shopping then head up to the counter to check out and now there is a girl there.  She is ringing us up and suggests that we get the extended warranty.  The pump comes with a 5 year warranty already, they last forever and you can by rebuild kits.    For just an extra 20% we can extend the warranty for another 2 years.  We pass on the extended warranty.

The pump is pretty easy to replace – a few screws and a couple of hose clamps and we’re done.  We try a test pump and it works great.  Later that evening, after cleaning up from dinner, I see water on the floor again.  Maybe I should have gotten the extended warranty.  It turns out that I didn’t get the hose clamps on tight enough.  A few more turns on the screws and everything is tight and leak free.

The new foot pump, installed and ready to use.

 

That keeps us going for another week until we both have time to figure out why the electric pump isn’t pumping.  I grab my multimeter and we start by checking the connections at the pump – no power.  I disconnect the wires to look at the crimp on connectors.  They need to be replaced, but that’s not the problem. There is an inline fuse, but it is whole so that’s not the problem.  Then we go back to the source.  There is a switch panel that controls all the power distributed around the boat, both AC and DC.  I open that up and check to see if there is power when the switch is on – there is.  Next we go to the distribution panel and check to see if there is power – there is.  We follow the wire through the walls, under our bed and into the galley.  There are no other connections and the wire looks good.  We find some connectors behind a hose under the kitchen sink and test to see if we have power there – we do.  We check the fuse again – still good.  We test that there is power going into the fuse holder – there is.  We check to see if there is power leaving the fuse holder – nope.  Somewhere in the simple fuse holder there is not a connection.  Back to see our buddies at West Marine.  We buy a new fuse holder and some new connectors.  Home on the boat we replace the fuse holder and the end connectors, flip the switch and listen to the pump load up the accumulator tank.  We lift the tap and magically water pores out without having to use a foot pump.  That lasts for about 10 seconds then the tap starts sputtering and a few seconds later the water stops flowing.  Fortunately, the only problem is the starboard (right) side tank is empty.  We turn off the starboard tank, turn on the port (left) tank, turn on the faucet and waters flows out just like it should.

It has been more than a week since then and everything is still working as it should.  Well the water is still working as it should, not everything is working as it should.  Of course, that’s several other stories.

Our sink with it's 4 faucets.  From left to right: a hand pump to pump water out of the refrigerator, the primary faucet, a faucet from a special water filter and a faucet for water from the foot pump.

                                                                                                                                               

Marina - 3, Will - 0

Marina -3, Will – 0

Well, it was 3 to 0 when I started writing this, but after tonight I might need to change that to Marina – 4, but the last incident occurred on the boat not in the water.

So, let’s start from the beginning.  I have grown up around boats and the water.  I surf, water ski, scuba dive, swim, and skin dive.   I’ve grown up around power boats and sail boats.  I have lived around water most of my life and I know what I’m doing, but maybe I’m too confident.  Wendy on the other hand is paranoid about falling into or dropping anything in the water.  Hence, she is very careful and has so far not had any incidents.

The first incident occurs while replacing a through hull.  A through hull is exactly what it sounds like.  There are hoses that need to pass through hull – typically letting water in or letting water out – and the through hull is a threaded fitting that passes through the hull to which the hose attaches.  In this case the through hull is meant to let propane out.  Propane is the fuel of choice for cooking on a boat.  It works great, but it is heavier than air.  So, if it leaks it fills up the boat with propane and turns the whole boat into a bomb.  Since propane is heavier than air it is stored in compartments that drain overboard.  Our drain hose goes to a through hull that has broken.   That means that any leaking propane is now going to go into the boat.  That is unacceptable, so I go to West Marine to buy a new through hull and there are two options – option 1 is a PVC through hull exactly like we’re replacing.  Option 2 is a Marlon part.  It is resistant to UV rays and will last virtually forever.  My choices are a $15 part that will wear out in a couple of years or a $30 part that will last as long as we own the boat.  No question, I’ll spend the extra money to get a better through hull.

I get it back to the boat, get all the tools I need, get the part and head out to replace the through hull.  This through hull passes through the stern of the boat.  I put the dinghy in the water to gain access to the back of the boat.  Now I just need to get everything into the dinghy to make the repair.  I’m not going to hurt the through hull by just dropping it into the dinghy, so I go ahead completely forgetting that our dinghy has an inflatable bottom that will act like a trampoline.  I hear boing, boing, splash!  I quickly look over the stern and get to watch the through hull sink into the depths.   Glad I spent the extra money to get the good stuff.

I go back over to West Marine and find that I had purchased the last Marlon through hull in that size.  So I end up buying the cheap one and ordering a new good one.  Now my $30 through hull has become $30 for the first one, $15 for a temporary replacement and another $30 for a second one - $75 total.  On top of that I get to do the replacement job twice.  Hurray!

Incident two takes place a couple of days later.  However, before I get to the incident let me give you a little background.  Months ago I injured my shoulder while lifting weights.  I kept thinking it would get better, but it hasn’t.  By the time I realized I was going to have to go to the doctor we were busy moving.  I finally got to a doctor a couple weeks ago and he suspects a torn rotator cuff.  I had an MRI this week and I’ll get the official results next week.  Anyway, I can’t lift my left arm up past should level without a tremendous amount of pain.

The other thing is that when we first arrived at the marina they gave us a slip with a short finger pier.  The finger pier is the part of the dock that runs alongside your boat.  What this meant for us was that we had to board our boat from the bow which is the highest part of the deck.  To do this we would step on the dock line to lift ourselves up then quickly step onto the bow before the boat moved over and the dock line dropped too low.  It became fairly easy once we got used to it, but you had to pay attention when you did it.  You can probably see where this is headed.  We have now moved slips to one with a long finger pier that allows up to board mid ship which is much, much easier and safer.

Wendy and I are just returning from our storage unit with more stuff to put on the boat.  The plan is for me to get onboard first and have Wendy hand things up to me.  I reach over and grab the boat while putting my foot on the dock line, but get distracted as I do it.  My foot slips off the line, I swing over and slam into the side of the boat then I’m left dangling in the water while holding onto the lifeline.  At this point I’m up to the bottom of my shorts in water.  Normally, I would just pull myself up, but my left shoulder is in so much pain I have to let go with that hand.  Now I’m hanging on with just my right hand, my left arm is useless and there is no way I’m going to be able to get back up.  Fortunately, I forgot my phone this day, so at least that’s not going in the water with me.  Unfortunately, you don’t want to swim in marina water.  Let’s just say that most people do not use their holding tanks while in marinas. 

At this point I have no choice.  Wendy can’t pull me up, I can’t pull me up, so there is only one way to go and that’s down.  I let go and drop into the water being careful to keep my face out of the water.  Ok, so I’m in the water and there is no place nearby to get out.  I’m there treading water with shoes on and only using one arm looking around for some way to get out of the water.  I see a sailboat on the other side of our dock with a low transom and a swimming ladder.  I have Wendy board their boat to lower the swim ladder while I swim under the dock.  Their dock lines are in the way so their ladder won’t go all the way into the water, but I manage to crawl over it and onto the back of their boat.

I head immediately to the fresh water hose and rinse off.  Wendy goes below to get me soap, shampoo and a towel then I head off to the showers.

The first thing I did when returning to the boat was to put our swim ladder on the side of the boat with a line that can be reached from the water to lower the ladder into the water.  Later we went over to the Dock Master office to request a new slip with a longer finger pier.

Incident number three happens on a very high tide before we have a new slip.  My phone is safely in my back pocket and I’m getting off the boat.  Because the tide is so high I have to sort of slide down to get off the boat and my back pocket rubs along the rail.  I get on the dock and everything happens at once.  Wendy starts to say that my phone is sticking out of my pocket, I start to turn to reach for it and the phone leaps for freedom.  It hits the dock on the way down, I hit the deck in an attempt to capture it and it slips off the edge and into the water.  I lay on my stomach while watching my phone disappear into the depths.

Fortunately, Google Backup has most of my phone numbers and they are transferred over to my new phone.  I was planning on getting a new phone anyway, but this moved up my timetable by a few weeks.  I did lose a few photos like the ones of the termite trails and a big tent covering the boat, so that was too bad.

Incident number four did not involve water, but it is part of life on a boat.  Wendy was trying to get off the boat, but the boat had swung away from the pier.  She asked me to come out and help her get the boat closer so she could step down.  The sun was just setting and I had a hard time seeing what was under foot.  I stepped on a very thin white coated wire that blended in perfectly with the deck.  It rolled under my foot and I start heading down.  I was about to fall right on top of Wendy so I turned as I fell and instead landed on the boom which was lying on the side deck.  I managed to bruise my ankle, take a shot in the ribs, have my left arm pushed above my head and jammed a few fingers on my right hand.  The next morning my ankle, ribs, hand and shoulder all still hurt.  I’m going to have to be more careful.

I’m hoping this is not going to be a regular continuing series on this blog, but I suspect this story will be continued at some point.

We've got Termites

We’ve got termites!  During our boat survey we found a termite trail, but no live termites.  The previous owner said he they had termites years before and managed to rid the boat of them by removing all the insulation around the refrigerator.  It was just one trail near the refrigerator with no live termites, so no big deal.

Well, that may or may not have been an old trail, but we certainly have termites now.  I start Googling boats and termites and find that this is not an uncommon thing.  It is especially common in Florida, California and Hawaii.  Someone in Hawaii said he expects to have to fumigate his boat every five years.  We won’t be spending much time in Hawaii.  In Florida there are plenty of places that will get rid of termites on a boat, but not so many around Ft Pierce.  I call around and finally find someone who will do it.  No quote until they inspect the boat.  We’re back in Austin, so we’ll have to have someone else let them on the boat.  No problem, the Harbor Master sends someone over to meet the exterminator.

Much to my surprise, there is more than one kind of termite.  The type that most commonly attacks boats is Drywood Termites.  The kind that usually attacks houses is Subterranean Termites.  Fortunately, Drywood Termites are much less destructive than the Subterranean Termites.  The Subterranean Termites are very aggressive, but since the Drywood Termite live on boats they tend to be more laid back.

So, the exterminator checks out the boat, sends me some pictures of trails and calls me up to give me a report.  He starts by asking if the boat has been stored on land recently.  I say, “Yes, it has been for the last two years”.  He replies that explains how Kailani got Subterranean Termites.  Even better, Subterranean Termites create a big nest that is sort of like a dry mud that helps protect the colony.  So, not only do we have more aggressive termites they are also more difficult to destroy.  According to our exterminator, it will take twice as much of the poison to make sure it reaches all the termites in the nest which means it is going to cost nearly twice as much money as it normally would.

The way they kill termites on a boat is by putting a big tent over the boat and letting the bottom of the tent hang into the water to seal it off.  They let me know that all of the rigging needs to be taken down so that they can get a good seal on the tent.  They also say that I may leave the mast up and that makes me worry.  A mast with no rigging to hold it in place is like balancing a baseball bat straight upright on a ball and expecting it to stay there.  It’s just not going to happen, so I’m left wondering if they have ever tented a boat before.

Since we are in Austin we have to arrange for the marina to move the boat, remove all the rigging and take down the mast.  During our boat survey the surveyor suggested repainting the mast if it is ever down.  Well, it’s going to be down, so I ask about repainting.  I figure somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000, but I was way off.  The quote comes back at $19,000 to repaint the mast.  The labor is almost $300 an hour.  I thank the yard for the education on marina labor costs and let them know that we’ll pass on the paint job.  We opt for a simple mast removal and replacement at “just” $3000.

It takes a while for the yard to fit the mast removal into their schedule then it takes a while for the exterminator to get us on their schedule, but after only three weeks Kailani is tented and those little boat eating bastards are sent straight to termite hell.

After returning to the boat we find that there are a lot more trails around the boat than when we left.  The termites where quickly spreading out to cover as much boat as they could, so it was good we acted as quickly as we did.  The one lucky thing in all this was that they had built their next up in the headliner of the main salon.  There is some plywood backing that has been partially destroyed, but it serves no structural purpose.  None of the teak interior was touched.  As far as we can tell all of the termites are dead and gone.  The mast is still down so I’m not sure if we are officially a sailboat at this point, but at least the Kailani is pest free.

 

The Big Boat Move

The Big Boat Move

Before I begin I wanted to say that I don't believe that the previous owners new about any of the problems we encountered.  Tom and Kathy took very good care of this boat in the 22 years they owned her.  As we work on the boat now we can see how well systems are organized and maintained.  However, it is a 33 year old boat and things wear out.  When we bought Ahwahnee she had been sitting in a boat yard for two years.  Tom and Kathy came down and helped put the boat back in the water and get her ready to sail again.  They spent a very long week doing what they would normally do in a month and we appreciate all their help.  Now, on to the story.

Wendy, Michael Olstad and I flew down to FL to move the boat from the West Coast to the East Coast.  We bought Kailani in Punta Gorda, FL on the west coast of the state and during our boat search we found a great marina in Ft. Pierce, FL.  It was to be about a 500 mile trip from where the boat was moored, down around the southern tip of FL and back up to the marina.

We arrived at the boat with the necessities - beer, tequila, limeade and of course some food.  No tools, no diagnostic equipment.  After all the boat had a stellar survey and certainly had no glaring issues.  We already had the standing rigging replaced, so nothing major should go wrong.

We had moored the boat at a very generous couple's house for the month of August.   They watched over the boat and even offered to allow us to fill the water tanks before we left.  Plus they helped us cast off when it was time to leave - thanks again Bonnie and Jerry.

As we were loading the boat I noticed a little dirt on the saloon table.  That seemed strange so I looked around for the source and decided it came from the headliner near the mast.  I poked around up there and saw a live termite.  Welcome Aboard!

There was nothing that could be done at the time, so we finished loading the boat and shoved off.  We pulled forward about 10' before running aground.  No problem, we would just back up...where we made it nearly 20' before running around again.  The sun was setting and the tide was falling.  We pushed the front of the boat out into the canal, wiggled the rudder, revved the engine and slowly pulled out into the channel.  We managed to get out to an anchorage as the sun set with no further incident.

Later that evening someone went to use the head (marine toilet) and noticed that the inlet water was not turned on.  No problem, I flipped the valve to open the line to supply water to the head so it could be flushed.  Immediately water began running across the bathroom floor.  I looked around and found the source was a broken fitting in the inlet line right behind the head.  It leaked constantly, but much worse when pumping the head.  Hmmm, it was going to be a long week if we couldn’t flush the head.  We decided that we would turn on the water each time we needed to flush, turn it off when finished then mop the floor.  The leak was inlet water, not outlet water, so while it wasn’t fun, it wasn’t like we were mopping up sewage.

The next morning we got up early, before the sun came up.  Started the engine and started pulling up the anchor.  It all went well until the chain jammed in the windlass (the electric winch that raises the anchor).  Now we had 50' of chain and a 65lb anchor stuck in mud to get on the boat with no mechanical help.  I tried pulling it in by hand, but with the wind blowing the boat back I was no match.  Wendy suggested using the cockpit winch to help pull up the anchor.  While we couldn’t do that directly, we could run a line from the anchor chain back to the winch and use that to crank up the anchor.  I pulled on the chain as Wendy cranked the winch and the anchor slowly came on board.  It only took an hour and a half, but we were ready to go.

We were off, we still had a chain jammed in the windlass that I needed to figure out, but at least we were moving.  Aside from there being no wind, everything else seemed to be working well.  The engine RPMs were not showing up, but we were told that happened when the batteries were fully charged, so no big deal.  We motored out of the bay and headed south.

 With no wind and flat seas it was easy motoring.  Set the autopilot, lean back and relax.  We had time to watch for dolphins and other sea life; talk, read, eat or just do nothing.  I decided to try to remove the jam in the same way we brought in the anchor – run a line from a cockpit winch up to the chain and start cranking.  It popped free with little effort.  Winches are great.

Due to the late start and easy motoring we decided to continue straight through the night.  That would put us in the FL Keys early enough to fix the cracked fitting on the inlet hose then get some rest.  As usual everyone agreed to get some sleep so I wouldn’t be the only one awake at 4 am.  As usual, they didn’t.

We continued to motor on through the night watching the chart plotter to see where we were and adjusting the autopilot as needed.  I figured out we could flush the head by filling it up with fresh water from the shower hose.  So, now we didn’t need to open the inlet line at all.  That solved another problem for us; even if I found a fitting to replace the broken one, I had no tools to install the new one.  No need now, we had enough fresh water to last all the way to Ft Pierce.

Around midnight Michael said, “The chart plotter stopped working.”  I figured it was just a setting and went to take a look at it.  I was wrong, it was broken.  It had stopped receiving the GPS signal, so while it could display the chart it had no idea where we were on that chart.  This was a pain, but not life threatening.  I had a handheld GPS and the boat had a backup GPS down at the nav station.  It would just mean that I would have to plot our position on a paper chart.  People have done it for hundreds of years; it’s just not as easy as a chart plotter.

4 A.M., I’m awake, no one else is.  We’re in the Bay of Florida, a large shallow are between the Everglades and the FL Keys.  I’m looking for a channel marker with a spot light.  The GPS and chart say that I’m about the run into it, but I can’t find the thing.  According to the chart it is 50 feet tall and has a red flashing light.  How hard can it be to find?  I check the GPS and chart again.  And again - it is 4 am after all.  I’m right where I belong, but the marker isn’t.  There are shallow areas past the marker, so I just make the turn as if it were there.  Now I can see other flashing red lights that mark the left side of the channel, but I can’t find any of the green markers that mark the right side of the channel.  I can’t go straight to the red markers because there are shallow in the way.  I plot my next heading and just trust my compass.

 

Its 5 A.M., Michael is now awake, but that’s not much help.  He keeps asking questions about what he can do to help.  I’m tired and trying to find the next marker, I’m picturing parking the boat on a reef in the dark of night, there are lights everywhere and the next marker is nowhere to be found, I don’t need to answer questions, too.  I check the course, check the GPS, check the chart, repeat, repeat, repeat.  Once again I reach the point where the marker should be and nothing is there.  Now I’m really concerned; am I where I think I am or not?

5:30 A.M., Michael has stopped asking questions, I know he is just trying to help, but I’m beyond being able to think straight.  I approach the spot where the next marker should appear.  I’m shining the spotlight around; it’s hard to see anything because we are getting close to 7 mile bridge which is lit up like a Christmas tree.  I keep waving the light side to side looking for any reflection.  Finally! I spot the green reflection I’ve been waiting for!  I’m so happy I could cry.  I didn’t realize how stressed I was until I felt how relived I was.  The marker is where it belongs; it has the right color and the right number.  We are on course.  Whew.

6 A.M. we have reached 7 mile bridge.  Actually, there are two bridges, an old RR bridge with a section cut out right next to 7 mile bridge which has a raised span to allow for sailboats to pass under.  The middle of the section has 65 feet of clearance at high tide; we only reach up 53 feet from the water, so this will be an easy pass.  We approach the RR bridge and pass right down the middle of the opening.  Looking forward I can’t figure out the lights.  I can see the span right ahead of me, I can see a channel through the pilings, but the lights don’t seem right.  I’m about to reach the bridge when I suddenly figure out that the channel zigzagged between the bridges.  I’m about to pass under a lower section of the bridge.  It should be ok, but I don’t know that for sure.  I yank the wheel to the left and the bow snaps around.  The lights now make sense.  We motor forward a little ways; I spin the wheel back to the right and pass under 7 mile bridge right under the center span.  Wow, I’m tired.

6:30 A.M. and the sun is getting ready to rise.  The sky is turning a light grey and I can see around me.  There are three markers up ahead which I cannot yet see, but they’ll be coming into view soon.  Everyone is up; I pass the steering off and go forward to look for the markers.   Now would be a nice time to have binoculars.

We find the next three markers with no problems, the sun is on the horizon and the world is coming to life.  Other boats start to appear on the water and we’re heading into the channel they are leaving.  We pull into Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, FL and stop at the first marina.  We fill up on diesel, fill our dinghy tank with gas and get a free basket of ice.  Yes, that’s right.  They bring out a laundry basket full of ice which quickly disappears into our coolers.  I try to start the engine and it doesn’t want to turn over.  Odd.  I try again and it starts right up.  That’s more like it.

We find a place to anchor thankful that the chain is no longer stuck in the windlass.  The anchor sticks well in the soft bottom and finally we are safe and sound in a quiet anchorage.  The first order of business is to find a grocery store and buy some more supplies.  Google Map points us to a Publix at the far end of the anchorage, so we hop into the dinghy and begin a long drive over.  The anchorage is about 1.5 miles long and all “Idle Speed Only”.  That means we are going about the speed we could stroll.  We finally arrive at the Publix only to find a fenced off area marked “Private”.  Everything down there is marked “Private”.  Someone on a boat comes out to yell across the water, “Hey, you can’t dock there.  That’s private!”  Oh, OK, thanks for reading the signs for us.  You’re a big help.

We get back to the boat an hour after we left with nothing to show for it.  Google again provides us with a place to park our dinghy.  It only costs $22 and leaves us with a 2 mile walk to the grocery store.  There is nothing we need that bad.  It’s time for a beer.  Even though it is only 11 A.M., as Jimmy Buffet says, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.”  After a few beers we all get some much needed sleep.

We wake up late in the afternoon, make some sandwiches for dinner, prepare some margaritas then sit around, talk and watch a great sunset.  Early to bed that night and early to rise the next morning.

It’s before the sun rises and we’re up cleaning the boat and readying the boat for sailing.  We’ll be out in the Gulf Stream today, hopefully with some wind and certainly some waves.  Everything put away, strapped down and cleaned up I go to start the engine.  Nothing.  At all.  I go below and check the batteries to find they are at about half charge.  No way are they going to turn the diesel engine over.  Like in the cartoons a little light bulb goes on over my head.  The engine hasn’t been showing the RPMs because the alternator is not running.  Either the alternator is broken or the regulator.  At this point it makes no difference, we’ve drained the batteries.  We have solar panels that will charge the batteries up.  With sunny days we should be able to start the engine in about 3 days.

OK, just getting a jump start isn’t going to help since the alternator isn’t charging.  We need another source of electricity like a generator.  I do a search for Lowes and nothing shows up in the Keys.  A search for Home Depot yields exactly one in all the Keys.  It happens to be in Marathon right off of Boot Key Harbor.  A check with them confirms that they sell small generators and have some in stock.  Michael and I hop in the dinghy and motor over to a mangrove forest where we find a path the leads to the Home Depot. We’re obviously not the first boaters to make this trip.  We find a generator, head back to the dinghy, load it up and get ready to start the motor.  Then I realize I’ve dropped the key for the kill switch “somewhere”.  I retrace our steps back through the mangroves and the Home Depot with no success.  Someone found it and walked off with it.  No one turned it in at Lost and Found and they don’t sell them at Home Depot.  I buy a spool of twine and return to the dinghy.  I take some twine and wrap it around the kill switch over and over until the kill switch is held in the “on” position.  We crank up the engine and return to the boat.

On the boat we have a little crane to lift the outboard.  We use that to easily lift the generator onboard.  We add gas and oil, get the generator started and hook it up to charge the batteries.  By noon the engine is started.  This time when we pull the anchor up I put all the chain on deck as it comes in then feed it down the pipe after the anchor is up.   Only 6 hours behind schedule and we are on our way!  We get out to the Gulf Stream and have good wind – right on our nose.  Another day of motoring, but we are helped on our way by the stream.

The rest of the day goes by uneventfully and we anchor just before sunset.  We get to bed early in anticipation of another early morning.

I get up and start the generator.  We let it run while we have breakfast and get the boat ready to leave.  The engine starts fairly easily and once again we head out towards the Gulf Stream.  Today the wind is on our beam; great for sailing!

I knew better, but I made the mistake anyway.  Kailani has a set of davits on the stern to hang the dinghy.  When we left we had the dinghy hanging on the davits.  What we should have done was remove the engine from the dinghy then lift the dinghy onto the deck, so it would be out of the way.  We got out into the Gulf Stream and the waves were confused, mostly on the beam, but sometimes on the bow or the stern.  One of the waves hit the dinghy with a enough force to break the davits. Michael was steering.  I had him turn the boat into the wind while I tried to crank the engine.  Fortunately, it started right up.  I jumped over to the davits to see what I could do the salvage the situation.  The dinghy is on its side and the engine is bumping up against the back of the boat.  I climbed part way over the rail and managed to reach the dinghy.  I tied a line to the handle on the side and pulled it up as high as I could.  I tied a line around the dinghy engine and pulled that up as high as possible.  Then I grabbed a winch handle and used that to beat the davits back together.  I had Michael steer straight north back towards the Keys.  We were done sailing for the day and needed to get in behind the reef to get some protection from the waves.

As we were heading back in I was trying to figure out where we were on our charts.  There was a very shallow area that we needed to miss.  The shallow area was about 2 feet deep and our draft is over 5 feet.  It would not end well if we ran into that.  Wendy took over steering and I went to the front of the boat to look for markers.  Once again, it would have been nice to have some binoculars.  I see a marker and we head for it.  I think it is the marker we need, but I’m not positive.  As Wendy steers I maintain a lookout for shallow water.  There is an area that looks suspicious, but it isn’t where it should be if were heading to the correct marker.  As we approach I realize I’ve screwed up.  We’re heading to a different marker and are about the beach the boat on a reef!  I lunge for the wheel, yank it sideways and manage to turn just before we hit shallow water. 

Now that I have figured out where we are, things get easier.  We find the channel and motor the rest of the day up to No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne.   Finally we arrive in the harbor.  Nice and quiet, no waves, gentle breeze, showers, rest rooms, restaurant, awesome.  I spend the next hour sorting out the dinghy and dinghy engine then we head ashore to enjoy the amenities.

The next day we take the time to pull the dingy up on deck and store the engine.  The diesel was slow to start and it was an hour or so before we could get underway.  The batteries are slowly charging, but they are still way below full capacity.  We get outside the reefs and put up the sails.  The wind is good, the waves are small, the sun is shining and we are sailing along at 8 knots with little effort.  We couldn’t ask for a better day as we sail past Miami.

That afternoon we sailed into Ft Lauderdale.  There is a bridge there that is 56 feet above the water at high tide.  We stand 53 feet and have a vhf antenna on the top of the mast.  That leaves us inches.  I steer the boat, so it will be my fault if something doesn’t go right.  We line up with the center of the span and sloooowly move forward.  From our perspective it looks like we are going to hit for sure.  I brace for the impact, but it doesn’t happen.  We slide under the bridge looking like we must be brushing the underside and come out the far side with no issues.  We motor up the Intercostal Waterway (ICW) to where we plan to anchor for the night and come to a drawbridge.  A drawbridge that opens to the sea must open as a sailboat approaches, but one on the ICW opens on a schedule.  The thinking is that when coming from the sea you may not have the luxury of waiting, so they just open when you show up.  On the ICW you can wait around until the scheduled opening time without it being life threatening.  The drawbridge has instructions written on the side, but they are small letters.  If only we had binoculars. Of course, we don’t, so we motor right up to the bridge to read the bridge name and the vhf hailing channel.  The bridge operator gives us a time and we hang out for 25 minutes until he opens the bridge.

We arrive where we are supposed to anchor for the night and it doesn’t look right.  We are where the cruising guide says to be, but it is a narrow channel and there is nothing around.  We motor up another channel and find a wider place with sailboats already anchored.  We drop the hook and enjoy a nice quiet evening surrounded by multi-million dollar houses.

The next two days pass pretty much the same way.  Beautiful weather, small waves, good wind, quiet anchorage.
In general, life’s good.  Except the early morning of the last day.  On our final day we had to leave our anchorage in Palm Beach very early.  We lift the anchor at 5 am in light rain and head out into an approaching storm.  If we can move quickly enough we'll beat the storm, but its going to be a close call.  We motor out the channel into 6 foot breaking waves, 40 knots of wind and pitch blackness, except for when lightening illuminates everything.  Heading into the waves while we get offshore isn't too bad, but when we turn north the waves are on our beam making us roll side to side.  We push the diesel as hard as we can in an effort to escape before the lightening reaches us.  Over the next hour the wind begins to diminish, the lightening falls behind and the waves decrease in size.  By 9 am the skies have cleared, the wind has dropped, there is no sign of the storm and we are sailing along at 7 knots. Later that day we run out of water.  No big deal, we have water in our second tank, we just need to turn some valves and we’re all set.  We shut off tank 1, open up tank 2 and nothing.  Maybe the line is clogged?  Turns out that’s not the case, but I’ll save that story for another time.

We arrive at the marina in Ft Pierce on a Saturday around noon.  Since we won’t be back on the boat for a month we strip it down.  We didn’t want a hurricane showing up and ripping everything off for us.  We deflate the dinghy, remove all the sails and remove most of the canvass.  With nowhere else to store everything, it all goes down below.  I take a taxi over to pick up a rental car, stop by ACE hardware to buy some locks then head back to the boat to lock it all up.  When we put our new generator into one of the cockpit lockers I have to move some stuff around.  I find a trail of termites running around.  Great.

Nothing we can do now, but that’s something we’ll have to take care of soon.  For now, its drive back to Tampa to catch a flight back to Austin.